Permaculture Visions Demonstration Site

About Our Demonstration Site.

When we first bought this site in 1993 it took 6 hours to mow the acre of kikuyu, there were large tracts of woody weeds and we didn’t even know how to catch a chicken, graft a seedling, manage snails or pickle chillies. We are just ordinary people having fun trying extra-ordinary things! Now there is next to no kikuyu and lots of mixed gardens. We have also since renovated the home using recycled components, created an environmentally friendly office, and have become part of a friendly community. Our site is most famous for it’s Chicken Mansion and Potted worm farms.

Location: we are located in an old village that has a working mine at the top, a school, a pub, and a small Church with cemetery.Aspect and Climate: The ideal slope would be nor-north-east. This site is sloped to the west with limited solar access or wind. It was severely compacted pasture with some mature orchard trees. There is good rainfall year-round. Minimum temperature is 4c, Max temp is 39c. Site Size: 1 acre (frankly this is too big for a small family and it would be better to be part of an intentional permaculture village). Basically, this is a sloped, shady, humid and warm site with valley breezes.

Site Analysis and Sectors

In Permaculture design, we do a sector analysis to learn where the different natural energy sources are on the site and from there we work out what is the best use of this energy.

Natural Oddities: Fungi and lichen, self-seeding trees including strangler and sandpaper figs carried by the wide variety of birds (wrens, bower birds, Kookaburras, Cockatoos, King Parrots, Owls, Cat-birds and Brush Turkey). The Cockatoos and Flying Foxes are active pruners and eat fruit that is well out of our reach. Some years they destroy more than we welcome.

Native Residents

Occasionally King Parrots damage delicacies such as snow peas, the Wonga Pigeon likes to eat seeds freshly planted. Other residents include Sugar Gliders, lizards, water dragons and larger possums. Flying Foxes come each summer and eat a lot of the fruits and berries. Other visitors have included Brush Turkey, Echidna, Native eastern long neck tortoise and, of course, there are several varieties of snakes (including the golden crown), butterflies, frogs and froglets (including Perons Tree frog), insects and spiders. Non-natives include feral deer, neighbours cows, dogs, chickens and horses/>
Site history: The site had a few very large and bountiful plum, peach and apple trees. They were about 80 years old. At the bottom of the garden lies a natural wetlands, which has been preserved for the diversity value and as a good firebreak. The land use had involved market gardening, cattle, horses and poultry farm.Our Organic Practices
There was a high possibility that toxics sprays were used on this site. So, we avoided growing and eating tubers from the soil for the first 15 years. We have managed all weeds (see notes on weeds below) without any chemicals.Soil type: When we started here the soil was badly compacted solid clay. It still is rock-hard in most areas. The acidic soil has been improved by the addition of humus (sheet mulched beds with worms underneath).History of The Site: The original site has been occupied for over 100 years. It was a ‘dry rainforest’, visited only seasonally by nomadic people who did not like to camp on the mountain. Our Permaculture site has been in implementation since mid 1993. we started when the drought broke and our seedlings were old enough to plant out. Most of the top garden beds are the zone 1 and 2 herbs and vegies under orchard trees. These garden beds were made using Esther Dean’s no-dig method without soil (to combat Kikuyu an invasive grass and to improve soil structure). The lower section has a steep slope but still we used sheet- mulch. By the 10th anniversary of the site the trees were mature enough to survive the next drought without any hand watering. Once we had implemented half our original plan the system had evolved to show more potential and new challenges. We were moving into a dual existence: expansion of the implementation and some maintenance of the established area. Shade and food was created in just 2 years which gave us quick rewards. In 2006 we embarked on a solar passive extension of the house. The new shape of the house formed a nurturing windbreak and suntrap and immediately the Mangos were able to hold their fruit better.

Integrated Pest Management:

Ducks helped control snails in the early years, but we have learned that they are very vulnerable to dogs. Geese deter dogs. The other pests are cabbage moth and Stink bugs on citrus which are controlled by hand and the use of Neem oil. Fruit fly requires yeast baits and the chickens to eat infected fruit. After years of struggle to combat fruit fly, Bill Mollison suggested that we “simply grow what fruit fly don’t eat” and that works for us. The Chickens are trained at a young age to eat specific weeds. Liquid manure in made in big recycled drums and it converts the most invasive weeds such as Madeira vine into liquid manure.

We also pick and use invasive vines as bedding in the poultry houses. Our geese eat grass, deter foxes, cats and dogs during the day but they require strong protection at night. We have some recent problems with Deer eating young trees so we now protect the young trees with wire, solar powered electric fencing and covers of stinging nettle and Lantana off-cuts. Beautiful birds often eat our fruit but we have plenty to spare.

Planting and Harvest Regime:

There has been on-going tree planting of endemic species and additional introduced edibles. At first we would plant at the rate of one plant per day. Most weeks we would start new beds, each day we could collect food. Now, we rarely plant new plants, sometimes we might start some new seed in pots and every day we can find something to eat in the garden. We often share produce with friends and relatives. Often other people share with us in return. After just a few years implementation there were over 60 different edible tree species and varieties, over 160 different edible and medicinal species and varieties of herbs, bramble berries, vines, shrubs, and tubers. Some species did not succeed and we may try them in a different area with better soil.

‘Weed’ Management and Their Uses

Our definition of a weed is a plant that “does not respect diversity”. These weeds include Madeira Vine (which can collapse whole areas of rainforest), coral trees, Kikuyu and turkey rhubarb, lantana, croften weed and non-native wandering jew (white flowered).Fleshy invasive plants such as Madeira vine and grass are controlled well by chickens. Paul has noticed that lantana keeps Madeira vine out. Woody weeds such as Lantana are manually removed and replaced by shrubs to keep soil and wildlife protected. Invasive trees such as Privet and Indian Coral tree have strangler figs in them, have been ring-barked, lopped and the branches piled up off the ground. We have used fire in the stumps to finish them off. We re-use all removed material either as ash, liquid manure or fuel. We do not export material. Weeds work well to mine minerals so we keep our mineral on site. We have found various uses for invasive plants. Most woody weeds such as lantana and privet are cut and burnt in the fuel stove. Some are dried in raised piles on top of tarps so they can’t seed, then later used as mulch. Fleshy plants are put into the poultry house – nothing survives in there! We weave a tent of woody weed branches (not when they are in seed) to protect young seedlings from the chickens and Wonga pigeons.

Our Fuel Stove heating system

Our Fuel Stove and our hydronic heating system are our only domestic heating. Here is a picture showing some of the features.

One of the most important developments for us in using a fuel stove is learning how to reduce effort in providing fuel. We cut and stack the wood only once. We cut dried branches with either our electric chainsaw (we use 100% green electricity) OR a drop saw, we position our bins so the fallen piece falls directly into metal bins. When the bin is full, we place a lid on top and when we required we dust down the bin, and trolley it directly beside the fire. We use old decorative copper fire covers to cover the ugliness of the bins. This method ensures that we stack the wood only once. We have bought metal bins whenever we have found them at recycled shops. Some cheap steel bins need to be stored under cover to reduce possibility of rust.

Our Hydronic Heating System

Solar hot water is piped through radiators to warm the house in the shoulder seasons. excess hot water could be used in an adsorption system for air conditioning.

Our Solar Cooking

Even though we are solar challenged, we get enough sun to cook on sunny days, the temperature in the oven gets up to 115 which makes the best porridge, Curry and Italian sauces. We love cooking with the Solar Oven, you don’t have to monitor it much, except to rotate the oven because this is a basic model. We don’t have to stir, it requires no cleaning (only once did it boil over) AND it never burns! It has no moving parts to break down and was made in India. We bought it years ago from Rainbow Power.

Who Manages the Site?

The regular work involves animal care, mulching, planting, cuttings, grafting, seed management, harvesting. But as Ted Trainer said, it isn’t work when you’re having fun. Most of the site management is done by April Sampson-Kelly, sometimes by Paul and Ryan and occasional student workers. All maintenance and harvesting work is part time and average of just 3 woman/man hours per week. There is little heavy work as the garden is designed to be worked by less-able and small persons. Heavy work such as tree management is contracted to professionals. Paths run mostly along contour, they are covered in recycled terracotta and only require raking. Garden edges are recycled bricks, pavers and fallen logs. The paths can accommodate large carts. Materials are light and transportable. There are ramps rather than steps wherever possible. Some workers have been students who have studied with us in our limited work-learn exchange program.